Some pictures and a word about our Zambian church. . .

This is a Zambian sprinkler head. It is made from an old water bottle! Someone just put the end of the hose in the bottle, bound the top with material, turned on the water and wa la! You have a sprinkler!

The ingenuity of the people all around us is incredible.


This is Steven on the swing. He just chased a lizard out of the bathroom and is quite proud of himself. Even though he is growing up, he still has those kissable cheeks. He is truly a gift from God!

If you look closely, you can see a large green tank sitting on a metal frame. This is our water reservoir. From the well, water is pumped up to this reservoir from which all of our water flows. We have figured out that one of the workers continually waters plants and garden with the pump OFF! This drains the tank, puts air in the lines, and presto! No water.

The last time this happened was Saturday. A very important guest was in the shower covered with shampoo and soap when the water went dry. Needless to say, he was more than a bit unhappy. Out of our 5 1/2 weeks at the guest house, the water has worked the way it should a handful of times.

I don't know why I forgot to photograph the whole tree! These trees are stunning in their brilliance and beauty. They are covered with reddish orange blossoms. Some of the branches extend horizontally 20+ feet. In the above photo I was standing under the tree looking up. Isn't it gorgeous?

Here is a closeup of the blossoms.

Here is the boys' favorite tree to climb. They climb high and spy on all the happenings on the other side of the wall.

Hello everyone from Steven and Carlin!

Here they are showing me how fast they can navigate the tree.

About our Zambian church.

There are many things that are the same but so many more that are different. One of the things that has taken some getting use to is Sunday school before Worship. Then after worship is the main sermon. During Sunday school anyone can be called upon and is expected to contribute to the discussion.

At first I didn't like this. But I have grown to appreciate the benefits of preparing for church spiritually as well as the usual putting on clothes and combing hair. No one wants to be unprepared when called upon.

This past Sunday, the worship leader wasn't able to attend and neither was Pastor Mwanza as he was preparing to leave for Botswana. So we arrived at church heard the news and expected everyone to turn around and go home. But nooooooo. . .the church service continued.

The congregation takes seriously the scripture in I Peter (I'm sorry I don't remember the exact scripture and my Bible is at home) where it says something like "Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

One of the ladies got up and led Sunday school. Three people went forward to lead worship. The pastor who was suppose to speak arrived about 5 minutes before he started teaching. AMAZING!

I can't wait to get our own internet service so that we can listen to Pastor Steve's sermons with all of you!!! WE MISS YOU ALL TONS!